Andrea Bocelli @ Times Union Center, 6/13/13

ALBANY – Andrea Bocelli isn’t really an opera singer — he doesn’t have the pipes, for one thing, or anything like the seductive extroversion that’s required in wooing a crowd — but he sings sweetly, stands erectly and brings with him all the expected trappings of classical music.

He brought them all to the Times Union Center on Thursday night: the tuxedos; the orchestra (in this case, from the New York City Opera); the full-throated chorus (hometown heroes Albany Pro Musica); the guy in tails waving a stick on the podium with swirly flourishes (conductor Eugene Kohn); the arias by Verdi, Puccini, Gounod. It was all there. Bocelli did his part, using the agreeable brightness and lightness of his tenor to deliver charming melodies — and nailing some high money notes with decent power.

But let’s be clear about it. This isn’t opera. Bocelli’s voice, always a little fluffy and unfocused at lower volumes and pitches, is ideal for just the sort of career he’s built, just the sort of following he has, and just the sort of music he performs: he’s the reigning global superstar of cheerful, amplified arena pop-opera. Or, if you will, popera. This is true whether he’s singing with soprano Maria Aleida on selections from Charles Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette,” pouring the syrup on Italian pop ballads, or belting out the Neapolitan folk tune “Funiculì, Funiculà” while a giant screen projects black-and-white archival footage of chipper Italians.

He did all of that on Thursday. He and Aleida also pulled off a lovely turn through “O soave fanciulla,” that killer duet from Giaocomo Puccini’s “La Boheme,” while a clip of his 1998 performance of the exact same thing was being projected behind them. It was all extremely meta.

The R&B singer Fantasia Barrino, dressed to the nines as a golden-age jazz chanteuse, brought her own sultry take to George Gershwin’s “Summertime,” which is, after all, an aria of sorts. But Barrino (the third-season “American Idol” winner) absolutely owned it, making sharp and soulful use of her idiosyncratic voice. She only appeared for a few songs, taking turns with Bocelli, Aleida and Caroline Campbell, a violinist who writhed as virtuosically as she played.

Through it all Bocelli barely acknowledged the audience, breaking from his ramrod posture only briefly to dance or hold hands with his female collaborators. At one point, responding to cries of “Andrea, we love you!” he uttered a simple “Thank you.” He uttered another one at end, after several encores aimed squarely at the audience’s pleasure center: “New York, New York” (loud whoops), “Con te partirò” (louder whoops), “Nessun dorma” (loudest whoops of all).

That last song featured nice blasts of vocal power from Albany Pro Musica, whose contributions, on a handful of songs sprinkled throughout the night, were minimal but gutsy. Mostly, they lined the back of the stage and stood there looking choral: a classy classical trapping to accompany Bocelli’s performance.

11 Responses

I’m a big fan of Bocelli but I do agree with your description of his voice. Very nice, calming and enjoyable to listen to but it is not opera quality. I’ve seen both Pavarotti and Bocelli at the TU center (many years ago) and they’re totally different experiences. One thing though, the fact that he doesn’t acknowledge the audience much could be bec he’s legally blind and that affects how he moves onstage and interact with other performers and the audience.
Fantasia’s rendition of Summertime at AI was what clinched the title for her. It’s the only season of AI I saw and I was rooting for Jennifer Hudson until she got eliminated. It’s sad that Fantasia’s career is not as successful but I expected as much bec her voice is not really suited for pop. She’s more suited for ballads and that’s not a bad thing if she can find the right manager who knows how to market that.

Critcs crtique and Fans enjoy the performance. Bocelli is not perfect and surely not another Luciano Pavarotti, however, he still moves me. Bottom line, I am my own critic. Thank you, Amy Biancolli for your thoughts, however like so many, thank God I listen to my own…..

Bocelli gave a wonderful performance, however, Fantasia is not a good match for this tour. I’m pleased that she has found some success..her voice was piercing, version of Summertime overdone, (her version on American Idol was much better), not a good blending of voices in her duets with Bocelli. Violinist was excellent! Orchestra was excellent as was the choir. Wish Bocelli would make some connection with audience–I am a director myself and found it disconcerting that he showed little, if any emotion–rarely a smile. Perhaps he was under the weather, given the grueling schedule he has to keep. Regardless, he has a beautiful voice and didn’t disappoint me- Nessun Dorma was the highlight…BTW..Times Union Center was extremely helpful in accommodating seating for my elderly mother–thank you!

Saw the performance with my daughter who has never really listened to him, she commented that he has a wonderful voice, but no stage presence. He did not interact at all with the audience. Is it because he is blind? I don’t know, but he barely acknowledged that there even was an audience. Maria was fantastic, and the violinist caroline was superb. The only jarring note for me was Fantasia. I thought she just didn’t fit with the whole theme of the show. I agree she is a good singer, but not in that venue with Bocelli. Their voices did not fit together like it did with Maria. She would be better, in my mind, on Broadway. All in all it was a enjoyable entertaining show. I’m glad I went!

What key was the aria, “Summertime” in? Doubtful the original. Does the critic know how difficult it is to spin a high Bb or C at age 54? Will Fantasia be able to, at the rate she is blowing out her vocal chords at 28, sing as vibrantly? Bocelli is not trying to be a Pavorotti. You might need to listen to a few tenors and not just compare everyone to Luciano or Placido. Anthony Dean Griffey, Nick Phan, Thomas Glenn all come to mind. That being said, 30 years of eyesight & therefore, acting/staging ability would have made for a different singer too. He is absolutely a glorious singer of opera and chooses repertoire to showcase his skill. Some of his music is pop, nothing wrong with that. Think of the audience he has brought to classical music. Pavorotti duetted with Sting & Celine Dion. Aretha Franklin stepped in to sing, “Nessun Dorma” on the Grammys. Heck, Montserrat Caballé & Freddy Mercury killed it singing, “Barcelona” in 1988. This review could have read, “I liked what I knew & I watched Fantasia Barrino on American Idol, so I liked her.” Bravi tutti to Albany Pro Musica. I know that was a considerable amount of work for a brief,meet amazing opportunity to perform. Toi, Toi, Toi Andrea!

Opera aside, the depth, feeling, and musicality expressed by Bocelli in the sacred songs and arias is unmatched by anyone, even Pavarotti who sang these songs splendidly. Bocelli is to the sacred songs (various Ave Marias, Panis Angelicus…) what Paul Robeson is to American spirituals: sui generis.

It’s the Verdi Requiem, with Bocelli, and three true singers (including Renee Fleming) and the serious conductor Valery Gergiev, (recorded right around the time he came to the area to conduct at Troy Music Hall), and the excellent Kirov Orchestra.

If you listen to the music, you’ll hear that three of those singers sound in the actual, natural acoustical ambience of the recording hall, perhaps about eight feet away from their microphones — but Bocelli sounds close-up, as if he’s singing into a microphone, pop-style. He handles his big solo, “Ingemisco”, barely, and gets to the top note because he’s actually singing quietly right into that microphone. He may even have been overdubbed, but I have no proof of that.

Is this recording a stunt? Nope. Actually, it’s one of the best recordings of this masterpiece made in the last 40 years, worth getting for the three GENUINE opera singers and associated forces.

It’s also worth hearing for the difference between REAL opera stars and a lightweight pop-star who was thrown in by the record company to help sell albums.